The new school year will bring a major change to special education classrooms across Louisiana, as a recently passed law goes into effect aimed at increasing transparency and student safety. Under Act 479, all self-contained special education classrooms in the state will be required to have at least one security camera installed by Feb. 1, 2026. “Previously, it was with a parental request,” said Falin Key, special education director for the Lafayette Parish School System. “Now, it’s mandated,” Key said. Lafayette Parish is well on track to meet the deadline, with 132 classrooms scheduled to have cameras installed by the due date—thanks to nearly $400,000 in state funding. “These are classrooms where the majority of the students spend most of their day in special education,” Key said. “The state has given us funds for that, based on how many students we have in that continuum of services.”